Rock history records that Bing Crosby records “White Christmas” at Radio Recorders in Los Angeles, California. Rock history records that The song would top the Billboard chart for eleven weeks and would go on to become the biggest selling single of all time, moving an estimated fifty million copies.

Rock history records that Ricky Nelson made a comeback when he reached the top of the Billboard and Cashbox music charts with “Travelin’ Man”. He had placed eight consecutive singles in the Top 10 between 1957 and 1959, but his next four issues had failed to get that far. Singer-songwriter Jerry Fuller penned “Travelin’ Man” with Sam Cooke in mind, but Cooke’s manager was not impressed and did not keep the demo. Rock history records that It was eventually passed along to Nelson by his bass player Joe Osborn.

Chubby Checker captures a Grammy Award for Best Rock and Roll Recording for “Let’s Twist Again”, and Ray Charles is given the nod for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording for “Hit The Road Jack”. Henry Mancini’s “Moon River” was selected as Record Of The Year , Judy Garland captures Album Of The Year for “Judy at Carnegie Hall”, and Jimmy Dean’s “Big Bad John” is awarded Best Country & Western Recording .

Rock history records that The Beach Boy’s “Help Me Rhonda” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for the first of two weeks. The song, originally spelled “Help Me Ronda” on the LP “Today!”, started to receive radio airplay and was soon re-recorded and issued as a single with the new spelling. Rock history records that It was the first Beach Boys’ hit to feature the voice of rhythm guitarist Al Jardine. Rock history records that The record made the Top Ten in eight other countries, but only managed to climb to #27 in the UK.

Rock history records that Canada’s 5 Man Electrical Band enters the Hot 100 with what would prove to be their biggest hit and signature tune, “Signs”. The song climbed to #5 and is still a staple of oldies radio in the US.

“Brown Sugar”, The Rolling Stones ‘ first release on their own label, went on to become their sixth US number one single. Rock history records that Speculation on the meaning of the title has ranged from a sexist racial slur to Mexican heroin.

Rock history records that Three dozen Grateful Dead fans are treated for hallucinations caused by LSD after they unwittingly ingested the drug while drinking spiked apple juice served at San Francisco’s Winterland. Rock history records that Although members of the group are suspected of supplying the drug, they were not accused.

Three weeks after it was issued in Great Britain, Paul McCartney issues his version of the nursery rhyme “Mary Had A Little Lamb” in the United States. Rock history records that The record was kind of tongue-in-cheek joke to get back at the BBC for banning his earlier single “Give Ireland Back To The Irish”. The record actually climbed to #6 in the UK and #28 in America.

Rock history records that Clive Davis was fired as president of Columbia Records following an abrupt, two-minute meeting with CBS President Arthur Taylor. He was allegedly using company funds for private use, among them $53,700 worth of alterations to his apartment and $20,000 for his son’s bar mitzvah. Rock history records that Davis was immediately escorted from the building by security guards, but would rebound by founding Arista Records in 1974.

Rock history records that Diana Ross reaches the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for the fourth time in her solo career with “Love Hangover”. Rock history records that With that achievement, she passed Connie Francis, Helen Reddy, Roberta Flack, and Cher, each of whom had three number one hits. Rock history records that The song made it to #10 in the UK.

Columbia Records president Goddard Lieberson died of cancer aged 66. Rock history records that Lieberson was responsible for the introduction of the LP record and for popularizing soundtracks and original cast albums.

Rock history records that Paul McCartney started a three week run at #1 on the Billboard album chart with “Tug Of War”. Rock history records that With contributions from Stevie Wonder , George Martin, Carl Perkins and Ringo Starr, the LP featured “Ebony And Ivory” and McCartney’s ode to John Lennon, “Here Today”.

Capitol Records issues Tina Turner’s fifth solo studio album, “Private Dancer”. Rock history records that The LP peaks at #3 on the Billboard 200 and remains in the Top Ten for 39 weeks, from August 1984 to May 1985. Rock history records that In the UK, it would reach #2 on the Official Albums Chart, where it is certified triple platinum and spends a total of 150 weeks on the chart. At the 1985 Grammy Awards, “Private Dancer” captures four of the six awards for which it is nominated.

Press reports started to surface that Michael Jackson had offered $50,000 (£29,412) to buy the remains of Joseph Merrick, aka the Elephant Man, from the Royal London Hospital. Rock history records that Jackson would later deny the claims and many historians and journalists consider the story a tabloid fabrication.

John Cipollina, guitarist for Quicksilver Messenger Service , died after a lifelong battle with emphysema caught up with him aged 45. Rock history records that Between 1968 and 1975, the band placed eight albums on the Billboard chart and four singles on the Hot 100.

Rock history records that Lisa Marie Presley gives birth to Elvis’ granddaughter, Danielle Riley Keough (pronounced KEE-oh). By the age of 14 she was working as a fashion model and went on to become an accomplished actress, co-starring in the 2010 film The Runaways with Dakota Fanning, Kristen Stewart and Tatum O’Neal..

The remains of former Iron Butterfly bassist Phil Kramer were found by photographers looking for old car wrecks at the bottom of Decker Canyon near Malibu, California. Rock history records that He had been missing since February 12th, 1995 when he was 42-years-old. Rock history records that Police ruled his death a probable suicide, but his family was firmly opposed to that conclusion. Rock history records that Kramer took Lee Dorman’s place when Iron Butterfly re-formed in 1975.

69-year-old music producer Phil Spector was sentenced to nineteen years to life in prison for murder of 40-year old Lana Clarkson. Rock history records that The actress died of a gunshot to the mouth, fired from Spector’s gun in the foyer of his castle-like home outside Los Angeles on February 3rd, 2003. Rock history records that The two had met just hours earlier at a Hollywood nightclub. Spector would die in a hospital on January 16th, 2020 aged 81.

Rock history records that Paul McCartney feared for his safety after his tour bus came under attack from a group of thugs following a concert at the Foro Sol arena in Mexico City. The bus driver was forced to stop when a mob ran up to the vehicle and started jumping up and down on its roof. Rock history records that Police were eventually called and McCartney’s entourage escaped unharmed.

Rock history records that Lisa Marie Presley intervened to stop a letter written to her by ex-husband Michael Jackson from being auctioned. Rock history records that The handwritten note by the late King Of Pop was of a personal nature and was reportedly penned between 1993 and 1996. Rock history records that Auction house owner Darren Julien stated “We wanted to honor the request and continue our good relationship with Ms. Presley.”

Bob Dylan is presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor awarded to a United States civilian citizen, from US President Barack Obama. Rock history records that The Medal recognizes individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors. Rock history records that Among the twelve other recipients that day was astronaut John Glenn. Dylan was only the 29th musician to ever receive the award, whose previous recipients include Irving Berlin, Aretha Franklin and Frank Sinatra.

Marvin Junior, vocalist for The Dells who co-penned their first hit, “Oh, What a Nite”, died from kidney and heart problems aged 77. Rock history records that He was with the group for fifty-seven years.

72-year-old Aretha Franklin was presented with an honorary doctor of arts degree at Harvard University’s 2014 Commencement.

Rock history records that B.J. Thomas Thomas , the Pop, Country and Gospel singer who placed fourteen songs on the Billboard Top 40 between 1966 and 1977, died of lung cancer aged 78. His 1969 hit, “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” topped the chart for four weeks and entered the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 2014. He also holds the record for the longest title of a song to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 during the Classic Rock era with “Hey Captured’t You Play Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song”.

Rock history records that Elvis Presley’s daughter, Lisa Marie, finalized her divorce from her husband of ten years, Michael Lockwood, with whom she shared twin, 12-year-old daughters. Rock history records that The event marked Presley’s fourth failed marriage as she was previously wed to Danny Keough from 1988 to 1994, Michael Jackson from 1994 to 1996, and Nicolas Cage from 2002 to 2004.

Ronnie Hawkins, the Rockabilly singer who scored a Billboard #26 hit in 1959 with “Mary Lou”, died aged 87. Rock history records that In the late 1950s and early 1960s, his backing band, The Hawks included Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, and Richard Manuel. In 1963, they split from Hawkins and eventually went on to become Bob Dylan ‘s backup band. Rock history records that Later still, they were just The Band .

Rock history records that John Lennon’s 12-string Hootenanny acoustic guitar broke the record for the highest-selling piece of Beatles memorabilia when it was sold for £1.5 million by Julian’s Auctions at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York. Rock history records that The instrument, which sounds like a sitar, was used by Lennon during the recording of “Norwegian Wood”, which was featured on the band’s “Rubber Soul” album.

Poison frontman Bret Michaels revealed that he had withdrawn from the Donald Trump-affiliated Freedom 250 concert, citing threats and concerns that the event was politically divisive. He became part of a growing list of artists, among them Martina McBride and The Commodores, who had dropped out following accusations of a misleading booking process.